Month: September 2008

Ok, something a little different today. Now that all the little kidlets are back in school, and it seems like as a good a time as any to get organized. Are you reorganizing your studio/workspace? It doesn’t matter if you have a full room to call your own, or just a little corner of the dining room table. Post a comment with your best jewelry/bead related organization tip. Tomorrow at noon, I’ll choose one of the responses at random. The winner will receive all of the components necessary to make our latest inspiration! This prize is worth well over $50! …

That’s right – it’s that time again – Back to School Time! And with the kids off at school, the buses running more frequently and the weather cooling down (I know, 29C with a humidex of 34C is hardly cooling off! But with mid-teens an low 20’s forecast for next week, fall is on its way.), why not take a class yourself? With Dancing Dahlias, Byzantine Bracelets, and Art Clay Play Days, we have a range of classes to ignite your imagination and build your beading skills this fall. Looking to Lampwork? We have 4-hour Introductions, 8-hour Weekends and the …

Have you seen this series – Mad Men? It’s been getting a huge amount of hype lately, and normally, I equate tv + hype = tripe and avoid it at all costs. However, this long weekend, I stumbled upon a marathon of re-runs of it, and got snagged by the look and feel of the show, and before I knew it – 3 hours of my life had gone. I was entranced. The writing is really d— good. B. amazing, in fact. No cliches, no platitudes – no likable characters (well – Peggy isn’t too hatable – a sort of …

Parents partying in the street – the kids are going back, the kiiids are goingggg baaaack! Kids moansing and groansing. Parents also chewing their nails off in anxiety. Will they be ok? Will they find their classes, will there be bullies? Oh yes – it’s a double-edged sword. So, once they’ve been back awhile and you can catch your breath, what about you? Planning any back-to-school for yourself? Learning keeps you young – apparently, all that stuff we learned about the brain being fixed in development at a young age was absolute rot. The more you learn, the better you …

Well – this week is the second of “Five Essential Things you need to know to Make Jewelry.” Rather than do it all with diagrams and iambic pentameter, (what was I thinking?) – I’ve made a little video for you. Let me tell you – writing verse is easier. Much easier. I have a whole new appreciation for how slick the video and film that we take for granted is. Anyway, in a nutshell – a crimp is a crushable bead that is designed to grab hold of wires and, after being crunched into place, hang onto the wires and …